The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games, add-on content, playable demos, themes and game and movie trailers. The service is accessible through an icon on the XMB on the PS3 and PSP. The PS3 store can also be accessed on the PSP via a Remote Play connection to the PS3. The PSP store is also available via the PC application, Media Go. As of September 24, 2009, there have been over 600 million downloads from the PlayStation Store worldwide. The PlayStation Store is updated with new content every Thursday.
Access
PSN Master Account
A "master" PlayStation Network account is required to access the PlayStation Store. A log of all previously purchased items, known as "Download List", records each PlayStation Store account's full game, trial demo, and add-on download activity. A guest user can use his master account Download List to download free content or to purchase content on another console however, a single account can only be used on up to five consoles. The most recent firmware must be installed on the console in order to access the PlayStation Store.
Wallet
Each master account is associated with an online virtual "wallet" to which funds can be added. This wallet is then debited when a purchase is made from the Store. Money can be added to the wallet through different systems of payment, although some of these are not available in all countries.
Currency
Unlike Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace and Nintendo's Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo DSi Shop, which each use their own specific currencies (Microsoft Points and Nintendo Points, respectively), all purchases (with the exception of alternatives in some countries; see following sections) are made using the actual real-world currency of the users' home country (for example in the United States, purchases are made using USD).
Edy viewer
Edy is an e-money system which is only available in Japan. The viewer is accessible from an "extra option" setting in the XMB. An additional USB IC card reader/writer called PaSoRi is required to add e-money to the wallet by operating with the Edy Center. Edy associated options are "Edy Gift", "Checking online balance" and "Reader/Writer Self-Diagnosis".
Credit and debit cards
The most common method to add money to the "wallet" is to use a credit card or debit card. This payment system is not available in all areas with PlayStation Store support. Visa and American Express gift cards can also be used to add funds to the wallet. Although select areas require that you use a credit card with a billing address from that specific country.
PlayStation Network Card/Ticket
Main article: PlayStation Network CardPlayStation Network Cards and Tickets are a form of payment available in South East Asian countries including Japan and Singapore, available in other territories. The PlayStation Network Card (PSN Card) is a form of electronic money that can be used with the PlayStation Stores for PS3 and PSP. This system is similar to Microsoft's Xbox Live Subscription Cards, Microsoft Point Cards, and Nintendo's Wii Points for their respective e-stores. PSN Tickets of various value can be purchased at convenience stores in North America and PSN Cards are for sale in PlayStation Shop Partners in the rest of South East Asia. Each card or ticket contains a unique 12 alphanumeric code which can be input to a PSN master account to fund the associated wallet.
The Japanese ticket system is a bit different from the card system used in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, or even the one used by Microsoft and Nintendo for their virtual shops. Unlike tickets, the cards are available for purchase at retail stores.
PSN cards and tickets are region-specific. For example, if a PS3 is registered in the US, the cards can't be used in the Japanese PSN store. However, users have been able to work their way around this by creating "dummy" accounts. Sony Computer Entertainment is well aware of the practice, which was when the demo for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune became available on the North American Store and was only playable on consoles from that region. Following many emails from disgruntled customers in other territories, Sony and the game's developer, Naughty Dog released an updated version of the demo which could be played on any PS3 console stating that the initial restriction was not intentional and that they were, until that point, unaware of this practice.
PlayStation Store for PS3
The PlayStation Store was launched on the PlayStation 3 on November 11, 2006 and is accessible via an icon under the PlayStation Network category of the XMB. There are five different versions of the PlayStation Store: Asia, Europe, Japan, North America, and Oceania.
Content
Due to DRM restrictions, most items can only be downloaded and installed on up to five (5) different consoles using a guest user account's Download List. Previously, the games Warhawk and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue could only be downloaded to one console, but since firmware 2.40, they are similar to other games, but require the account which downloaded the game, along with the password to be stored on the HDD. Since its launch the PlayStation Store has gone through many face-lifts.
Downloadable content includes:
Picture :
- Free or for sale HD/SD XMB themes, wallpapers and avatars.
Music :
- Free (WAV/MP3) audio tracks based on PS3 games original soundtrack. (North America and Europe only)
Video :
- SD/HD movies for sale or rental (United States, Japan, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom)
- SD/HD TV shows for sale or rental (United States and Japan only.)
- Free HD/SD trailers for upcoming theatrical releases and movie or musical Blu-ray Disc.
- Free HD/SD game videos (trailers, behind the scenes, interviews, commercials or promotional videos).
- Free HD/SD music videos from Sony Music affiliates artists (Australia and Hong Kong only).
Game :
See also: List of PlayStation Network games
- Free PlayStation 3 game demos.
- Free or for sale PlayStation 3 (PlayStation Network) full games.
- Free or for sale PlayStation 3 games add-on and system patches.
- Free PlayStation 3 (PSN) public beta software.
- Free PlayStation Portable game demos.
- For sale PlayStation Portable games.
- Free PlayStation emulated game demos (Japan and Hong Kong only).
- For sale PlayStation emulated games.
- For sale Arcade emulated game demos (Australia only).
- For sale Arcade emulated games.
- For sale PC Engine emulated games (currently Japan only, other regions at a later date).
Miscellaneous :
- Free PlayStation 3 software.
- Free PULSE espisodes.
- Free Dew Tour episodes.
- Qore subscriptions and downloads (North America only)
- FirstPlay (UK and Ireland in March, then it will be expanded to Europe during the rest of 2010)
Qore
Main article: Qore (PlayStation Network)On June 3, 2008 SCEA announced a new service, Qore , which launched on the PlayStation Store in North America on 5 June 2008. In a press release published on the Official PlayStation Blog, Qore: Presented by the PlayStation Network is described as "a highly interactive, monthly lifestyle gaming program covering the world inside PlayStation is on its way to PS3.". The program, hosted by Veronica Belmont and presented in high definition, gives users advanced access to exclusive news, in-game footage and behind-the-scenes previews of PlayStation games. Users are also given "special access" to game demos, add-on content and beta trial invitations.
Multitasking
As of March 22, 2007, background downloading became possible while watching a video stored on the HDD, listening to music, looking at photos, using the web browser and playing PS1, or offline PS3 games. Officially 16 downloads can be queued up at a time. The status of the downloads can only be checked on the XMB under the "Network" category. If the messaging service is activated a pop-up message will appear in the top right corner of the screen to notify the user that a download is finished.
PSP Connectivity
Some cross-platform store content such as emulated PlayStation games and demos can be transferred from the PlayStation 3 HDD to the PlayStation Portable Memory Stick using a USB connection.
PlayStation Portable games and demos need a USB linke
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